Break Free From the Prison of False Beliefs

Special Commentary:

In this talk, the speaker creates a brilliant analogy between our present divided nature which experiences pain and suffering due to attachments to identities based in a false belief system and a home containing walls on which hundreds of false beliefs are written underneath layers of wallpaper.

The key point is that an individual cannot escape the prison of this house, until one-by-one each false belief is revealed and erased by the light of our awareness. The most stunning revelation came as a result of seeing the truth of the seven step descending superstructure outlined by the speaker. It is as follows:

1) Desire: When presented with a condition (internal or external), sensation is stimulated within the individual, which produces a desire for a pleasing, rather than, painful experience. (Ex: I am in a meeting at work, and my boss looks at me sternly.)

2) Image: This desire is formalized into an image of what the individual wants. (Ex: I want approval from my boss.)

3) Belief: This desired image is used by thought to uncover an underlying belief. (Ex: I must have the approval of authority figures.)

4) Identity: The individual accepts this thought-generated belief and forms an identity based on same belief. (Ex: I am a highly competent employee who deserves recognition.)

5) Attachment: An attachment and dependency is formed to this identity, and an individual begins to believe this is who he is really "is." (Ex: If I am not viewed as the above, I am a failure; so I must be seen in this light by all authority figures at work.)

6) Resistance: When conditions come along that challenge this identity, the individual says "No" to whatever is presented that goes against his idea about himself. (Ex: "This kind of look from my boss is unacceptable.")

7) Negativity: The act of resistance produces negative states, which creates self-inflicted suffering resulting in a recurrence of the entire cycle (1-7). (Ex: "My boss is mad at me. I wonder if one of my co-workers has been trying to make me look bad. They're all a bunch of incompetent jerks who are out to get me, because I make them look bad. What I should do is...)

*Parenthetical examples provided by student.

The speaker went on to say that an intellectual understanding of this superstructure will not "raze the house." The divided mind can never accomplish this arduous but essential task on its own.

What is required is diligent self-remembrance, as the cycle begins its destructive course. We must come awake to ourselves and see the truth that the mind attaches itself to beliefs which create various identities, which always lead to suffering.

In this awakened state (if only for a brief moment), Truth can penetrate us with its healing light and do the work of integration. The key is willingness on our part to let go and allow God's light to do its magic in the moment of that awareness.